President Biden tests negative for Covid and will end strict quarantine, White House doctor says

President Joe Biden has tested negative for Covid-19 twice since Tuesday night and will end strict isolation measures he had been following since contracting the coronavirus last week, the White House physician said in a new letter.

That letter, which also said that Biden's symptoms "have been steadily improving, and are almost completely resolved," was made public as the White House announced that Biden would give remarks in the Rose Garden at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Biden, 79, plans at that time to discuss his negative Covid test and where the U.S. stands in its two-year battle against the virus.

"The President will give remarks after his negative test about a case that was mild thanks to the tools this administration has worked hard to make available to the American people," a White House official said. "He will discuss the progress we have made against covid and encourage eligible Americans to get vaccinated and boosted."

Dr. Kevin O'Connor, the White House physician, said in his letter Wednesday that Biden "continues to be very specifically conscientious to protect any" White House staff, Secret Service agents, and others whose duties require proximity to him.

"For this reason, he will wear a well-fitting mask for 10 full days any time he is around others," O'Connor wrote White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

The president Wednesday morning tweeted a photo showing his negative test, with the message: "Back to the Oval. Thanks to Doc for the good care, and to all of you for your support."

Biden, was diagnosed with Covid on Thursday.

The White House that day said Biden was experiencing "very mild symptoms." Biden is fully vaccinated and has received two booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine.

O'Connor in his letter Wednesday wrote that Biden completed a five-day course of the antiviral medication Paxlovid "36 hours ago," and "as of this morning has completed five full days of isolation."

"Yesterday evening, and then again, this morning, he tested negative for the SARS-CoV-2 virus by antigen testing," O'Connor wrote. "Given these reassuring factors, the President will discontinue his strict isolation measures."

But the doctor also wrote that given the potential for a rebound in Covid positive results seen "in a small percentage of patients treated with Paxlovid, the President will increase his testing cadence, both to protect people around him and to assure early detection of any return of viral replication."